This is a wish regularly expressed by the CEO of Brussels AirportArnaud Feist. His wish was to see Belgium's central airport linked to the high-speed train network. His wish is about to be partly fulfilled.
L'Brussels airport should benefit in 2026 from two daily high-speed rail links. However, these services will not be provided by Eurostar or SNCF. It will be the Deutsche Bahn which will link Antwerp, Brussels-Zaventem, Liège and the German cities of Aachen and Cologne.. The Federal Transport Regulation Agency has confirmed that it has received a request from the German rail operator. The ICEs would run twice a day with a maximum capacity of 1,000 passengers.n launch scheduled for 7 September 2026.
The ICE trains will use the high-speed lines between Germany and Leuven, then switch to conventional tracks for the Leuven-Antwerp section. Currently, eight ICE trains run daily in each direction between Germany (Frankfurt, Cologne, Aachen) and Belgium (Brussels and Liège). Eurostar also operates high-speed services between Belgium and Germany.
The CEO of Brussels Airport, Arnaud Feist, would also like to see the Eurostar stop at Brussels-Zaventem station. In his view, accommodating high-speed trains is the only way to significantly reduce the number of short-haul flights in Europe. And to free up slots for more profitable intercontinental long-haul flights. It would also make Brussels more competitive than Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG, which are served by Eurostar and high-speed trains. Both airports are Skyteam hubs, while Brussels is in the Star Alliance fold;
Interviewed earlier this year by the Belgian daily L'EchoHowever, Eurostar has confirmed that it has no intention of coming to Brussels-National for the time being. In the more distant future, however, competition...
